Road projects boost as Thika eyes city status

Governor Kimani Wamatangi’s bid to have Thika town become the first city in Mt Kenya region has received a major boost after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) committed to construct 61 kilometres of roads in the town.

The roads—already identified and approximately Sh5 billion allocated—will be constructed inside the town and on the outskirts to ease traffic flow for motorists entering or leaving the industrial town.

The county says it will also spend Sh256 million under the Kenya Urban Support Programme and Sh500 million to upgrade Thika’s informal settlements, as well as roads, hospitals and markets.

According to Mr Ephraim Obuollah, a senior engineer in charge of design at KeNHa, a feasibility study and an environmental and social impact report have been completed, and designing was underway, after which public consultations will be conducted.

Mr Obuollah led a delegation from KeNHa to a meeting with the governor at his Kiambu town office, where they, among other things, discussed the projects and areas of collaboration during implementation.

The meeting was attended by the county’s Planning, and Municipal Administration Executive Salome Wainaina who is spearheading the city status project, and her Roads and Transport counterpart Wilfred Mwenda.

Good change

Mr Wamatangi said the improvement of infrastructure would significantly change the town.

“We are already at a very advanced level with our process of elevating Thika into a smart city. We have concluded public participation, which was quite successful. The report is currently being drafted for submission to the county assembly for approval and onward submission to the Senate” he said.

“Therefore, the roads are urgent and crucial, and I am happy the President agreed to my requests for these projects, and as the county government, we commit to executing all the tasks assigned to us in the implementation process so that the projects can commence.”

Among the roads set for dualling is the 20-kilometre Gatitu-Kilimambogo, which is part of the Thika-Garissa road that is set for dualling. The Thika-Kenol highway will get additional lanes on both sides measuring 14 kilometres, while the road from Blue Post to Gatanga, which is 16 kilometres, will get a new interchange at Blue Post.

Within Thika Town, the 4.4 kilometre Haile Selassie-Upper Highway-Upper Road Roundabout-General Kago Road will be dualled, so will Magoko-Kenyatta-Avenue Road, and Kenyatta Highway through East Africa Paper Mills.

The road from Zero Gravity Distilleries will be dualled from the Thika Bypass junction all the way to the junction near Makongeni Police Station.

Upgrades are also planned for the Garissa Road-Thika Bypass intersection near BAT Thika, the section of the highway near Thika Sports Club and the Delmonte junction.

Mr Wamatangi also asked KeNHa to consider upgrading roads along the Kilimambogo-Juja Farm-Witeithie route and Gatuanyaga-Juja circuit, which he said will open up the right side of the town and reroute cars heading to Nairobi from Garissa, Machakos and Kitui.

Gatuanyaga ward rep Jackson Kung’u said; Thika is split geographically into two parts: Thika West, which hosts Thika town, and Thika East, which has Ngoliba and Gatuanyaga wards that are poorly developed. But with the city, whose realisation highly depends on the ceded Delmonte land in Gatuanyaga and Ngoliba, we expect these areas to experience unprecedented growth.”

City status

The groundwork for elevating Thika to a city is already being laid, with President William Ruto’s administration and the county investing over Sh10 billion in infrastructure, water, health, education, trade, sports and other initiatives.

Upon attaining city status, Mr Wamatangi said Thika will be attracting over Sh1 billion in annual grants for infrastructural development, improved social standards and economic growth, and increased property values.

The county has allocated 325 acres for an export processing zone that is anticipated to boost investment opportunities and draw in both domestic and foreign capital for the manufacturing, agro-processing, and technology sectors.